1 . On a recent afternoon, dozens of elderly farmers were playing chess in a courtyard, a common scene at the Madongchuan Township Zhaotai Village Mutual Support Nursing Home in Yan’ an, a hilly part of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

There are no caregivers in sight. Instead, the residents look after one another at the self-service nursing facility, which was rebuilt from a deserted primary school in Madongchuan township. The younger ones grow vegetables in a small path of land nearby. They cook outdoors using a shared kitchen, and the food is delivered to those with mobility issues. After meals, many play chess or chat at their leisure. Local authorities also hired a retired village doctor to oversee the facility so that the residents no longer have to go to the hospital for less severe health problems such as cold and fever.

“They were enjoying themselves in the moment, and leading rather independent lives,” Zhao Liwen, secretary-general of Taikang Yicai Foundation, said of her first impression about the residents during a visit in 2019. The Beijing- based charity offered help by donating 1 million yuan to the nursing home. When she arrived, the seniors, all empty-nesters who are either childless or have children working in big cities, were wrapping dumplings together.

The scene was a sharp contrast from life in the area more than a decade ago. Village elders used to live lonely lives, scattered (分散) among the remote area and unable to access hospitals and other public services. Then in 2013, a flood washed their homes away, forcing them to move into the nursing facility.

The nursing home in Yan’ an is one of the best examples of China’s increasing efforts to take advantage of the strength of “relationship - based communities” in rural (乡村的) areas to ensure fast-graying residents are cared for. Compared with a more commercial or rule-based society in cities, rural communities in China are known to operate through personal connections and mutual trust. The self-sufficient, interdependent culture displayed by the nursing home is being supported by authorities to deal with aging in the countryside.

2 . Remember the future? From jet packs to artificial intelligence, visions of tomorrow once preoccupied our collective imagination. Lately though, young people are addicted to looking the other way.

Super charged by social media, nostalgia (怀旧) seems to attract Generation Zconsumers so much. However, this doesn’t mean throwing it back is a cheat code for marketing success with Generation Z. Brands must understand what their audience is looking for in a nostalgia play and then work out how to feed this appetite.

So what’s behind this nostalgia explosion? Having grown up online, where any trend from any era is instantly accessible and social media platforms deliver an unending stream of memories, this generation is hardwired (与生俱来的) for nostalgia. We see this reflected in the big cultural hits of recent years — TV shows and the music of Olivia Rodrigo — where strongly nostalgic elements inspire wild followers.

For nostalgia to work best, something else needs to be going on. The search for connected experiences among Generation Z is also often linked to hype (炒作) culture. Nostalgic launches that connect with hype culture are a great way to create a certain audience, but their success rests on playing into the memories of existing customers as well as the new ones. It’s about tapping into comforting images still fixed in their consciousness.

But Gen Z is about more than online hype and being digitally native. Gen Zers want clarity, credibility, and honesty from their brands. Leaning into nostalgia can help convey this, and when it comes to awakening memories, nothing beats the physical experience. Brands with the vision to bring nostalgia into physical spaces can create an even deeper connection with this audience.

Ultimately, whether online or through brick-and-mortar (实体店),   nostalgia will always be part of the marketing toolkit. To use it most effectively, brands need to become more ambitious yet clever. More culturally savvy (有见识的), but sincere. And most important, they really need to know their audience — otherwise, that audience will start looking in another direction.

5 . One morning, Huang Fulin, a local farmer, rode a motorcycle to the Lixinsha Bridge in Guangzhou. The bridge, is the main ________ connecting the Nansha Economic Development Zone with Sanmin Island.

The visibility was ________ that day. However, when Huang was about 20 meters away from the bridge, he saw a thick fog, and it was very dark around. It ________ that a container ship hit the pier (桥墩) of the Bridge, causing it to ________. Huang saw a ________ coming his way. At that very moment, he ________ flashed his lights and shouted loudly, “Stop! It’s dangerous.”

The lorry driver, Wang Guoliang reversed his truck back and ________ it horizontally at the T-junction to the bridge. “My truck is about 15 meters long. By ________ the road with the truck at the T-junction, the only route to Sanmin Island, the ________ wouldn’t be able to get onto the bridge,” Wang said.

Meanwhile, Huang ________   the accident to the on-duty officers, who quickly arrived at the scene and ________ traffic cones (路障) on the road. Before more police were ________ to the spot, Officer Tang, on the other side of the bridge, stopped vehicles about to cross the bridge. Meanwhile, Tang ________ a video of the damaged bridge on his WeChat Moments to ________ others about the dangerous situation.

According to the official website, they will be awarded with the title of individuals who act bravely in a(n)________ .

8 . More than 50 million people in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere follow pastoralism(游牧) as a way of life. The practice has survived for so long because it is designed to change with the environment. Pastoralists move with animals to find new lands and water, leaving behind eaten plants to regrow.

Mongolia is well known for its pastoralism. Agvaantogtokh and his family are herders(牧民). On horseback, he rides with nearly a thousand sheep and goats to help them find water. Sometimes, he and his wife, Nurmaa, stop to help struggling young ones, weak after a difficult winter.

For families like Agvaantogtokh’s, pastoralism is more than a profession. It is a cultural identity that connects generations. At its heart is the human connection to animals. While they consider the animals as their property, they also see them as living beings working alongside them.

Researchers say herders believe in “animal agency”. Agvaantogtokh lets his animals choose the food they eat and where they find water. To him, restricting an animal’s movement and asking it to eat the same thing each day is like putting a person in prison.

In Mongolia, weather extremes are a part of life. When Agvaantogtokh thinks about climate change, he is concerned about humans and animals. Continuous dry and warm weather affects Mongolia. Since 1940, the government says, average temperatures have risen 2.2 degrees Celsius. To keep their practice alive, pastoralists seek ways to modernize. In Mongolia, Lkhaebum recently began using a small vehicle to more easily search for horses. The family uses electricity and has other technologies including a TV and a washing machine. They also use a cellphone to follow the weather and access social media where herders share information.

One of the biggest threats to pastoralism comes from within. Nurmaa and Agvaantogtokh’s 18-year-old daughter studies medicine. Their son spoke about becoming a herder when he was a child, but not anymore. “I won’t regret anything if my child won’t be a herder,” Nurmaa said. “I would like them to do what they desire to do.”